From the Archives

Oneonta Jaycees opened the softball season last week on a new field located adjacent to the Little League field just off U.S. 231 (south). Though Jaycees have worked hard and spent several thousand dollars building and lighting the field to get it in playable condition, it is not yet complete. They hope players and fans will be patient while planned improvements are being made.

Restrooms and concession stand are located between the two fields. Ball fans are invited to attend games and support their favorite team. Game time for softball is 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays with double headers every night.

Oneontan gets letter from Oneonta, NY

A letter of interest to local residents has been received by J. Grady Stone. Excerpts from the letter, written by H. Claude Hardy, historian for the city of Oneonta, NY, follow:

“…Evidently your city was named after ours. We understand that this came about through Mr. Collis Potter Huntington, a former resident here, who became a noted railroad magnate who founded the Central Pacific Railroad and who later built the Southern Pacific Railroad. He was active in railroad affairs all through the southern states. He also had a part in the development of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad. Huntington, WV, was named after him. He acquired great wealth and became a philanthropist. He bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art a collection of paintings valued at $3,000,000.

“Oneonta is an Indian name meaning ‘The Place of the Rocks.’ This area was an ideal environment for the American Indians, especially the Iroquois often referred to as ‘the six nations’ which constituted the Iroquois Confederacy, the first representative republic established on this continent.”

Blountsville BPW sesqui tea

Blountsville streets resembled scenes of the gay 1890s Sunday as belles of the town assembled at the library for tea and talk in striking fashions of past days. The occasion was the benefit tea given by Blountsville Business and Professional Women’s club. A coterie of bedecked sesquicentennial celebrants — men and women — enjoyed the hospitality.